THE PROTAGONIST - A Rebours (Re-edition) CD ‘A Rebours’, the novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans, is certainly a very important piece of literature, a landmark of symbolist aestheticism - and of language itself. Released in 1884, it still amazes readers today.The album, was excitedly greeted and well received by the dark industrial crowd. The sheer power of the orchestral, cinematic, imaginative pieces, the obviously talented compositions are all too convincing. Various guests on the (mostly spoken) vocals and playing additional instruments, mostly strings add depth and variation to the album’s tracks.Right in the opening track the huysmans reference is openly revealed in a recitation that expresses the praise of imagination - any possible misconception of what ‘a rebours’ is about is from now on passé. Throughout the album, artifacts of european culture repeatedly serve as a source of inspiration: Thorak’s sculptures, Riefenstahl’s film art, Poe’s and Shelley’s poetry, as well as the ancient Zoroastric religion (the first monotheistic faith known to mankind). Some tracks, like ‘kämpfende pferde’ or ‘zoroaster’ are driven by military style kettle drums, most parts of the album are dominated by orchestral complexity, others appear a bit more subdued and introspective.

Tracklist: 1. the eternal abjectness of life2. kämpfende pferde3. mutability4. zoroaster5. song of innocence6. the puritan7. imitation8. the end

THE PROTAGONIST - Songs of Experience (Re-edition) CDThe music on ‘songs of experience’ resolves all doubts: The Protagonist is a devoted artist, putting quality over quantity. Orchestral splendour, rigid drumming, dramatic string works and an increased presence of haunting, eerie atmospheres, pushing the album towards the darker edges of the neo-classical spectrum. Vocal deliveries are rather sparse and restricted to short spoken parts this time around, but feature prolific.

Guests : - Tomas Petterson of Ordo Rosarius Equlibrio lent his unmistakeable voice to the protagonist’s most wellknown track, ‘Strife’, a truly bombastic marching tune. - Jonathan Grieve of Contrastate can also be heard on one track, the heart-shattering ‘Sick Rose’.

Among all the opulence, romantic leanings all over, though the whole composition takes adecidedly bleak direction. The adapted literature features William Blake, Baudelaire and William Shakespeare. All in all, music and content combine into one impressive libertine’s manifesto, proclaiming the power of free thought and the mistrust of authorities!Until today, the protagonist stands out unique among neo-classical artists for the sheer brilliance of composition and the authenticity of his preoccupations - he is really serious about seriousness. History has been revealed, let beauty unfold!